Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Shares Down 4.1% on Analyst Downgrade

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)’s stock price traded down 4.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $83.00 to $81.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Aflac traded as low as $79.47 and last traded at $79.51. 1,968,426 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 11% from the average session volume of 2,210,671 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.92.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Aflac from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Aflac from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Raymond James boosted their price target on Aflac from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.85.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 30,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.91, for a total value of $2,436,695.63. Following the sale, the director now owns 86,090 shares in the company, valued at $6,879,451.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 30,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.91, for a total value of $2,436,695.63. Following the sale, the director now owns 86,090 shares in the company, valued at $6,879,451.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total value of $423,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,516,390.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,493 shares of company stock worth $3,765,706 over the last quarter. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. boosted its position in Aflac by 80.0% during the first quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Studio Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.8 %

The company has a market cap of $46.19 billion, a PE ratio of 10.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.22). The business had revenue of $3.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 24.92%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.43 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. The company operates through Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. segments. The Aflac Japan segment offers cancer, medical, nursing care, work leave, GIFT, and whole and term life insurance products, as well as WAYS and child endowment plans under saving type insurance products in Japan.